IT was 40 years ago on November 2 that Belmont Secondary School wrote their name into the history books of local football.
On that day in 1969 at the Queen’s Park Oval, the Belmont-based school became the first of their ilk to win the coveted Inter Col title.
Belmont Secondary joined the then Colleges Football League in 1967, and with only three players from their 1968 season returning, they still managed to topple the “big schools” on their way to the title.
Without a real coach, and assisted by ex-national and Midvale player Carl Smith and later a teacher Stewart, the unfashionable schoolboys weaved their way through their fixtures almost unnoticed.
Came Inter Col time, and with Gordon “Dudley” Husbands as skipper along with Wayne Lewis and Lloyd Noel they first whipped Fatima 3-1 in a semi-final.
Gregory Trujillo was the hero scoring a pair of goals while Martin Harewood got the other for Belmont Secondary. Dilip Narwani netted the consolation for Fatima.
On to the final marched the Belmont youngsters by now with a growing band of supporters mainly from the Port-of-Spain district.
They converged on the Queen’s Park Oval replete with drums and any makeshift instrument they could get their hands on for the Inter Col final. They were up against QRC.
The Oval was ringing with tempo throughout the entire match and it reached a crescendo when Wayne Lewis smashed a shot into the net in the 27th minute.
Skipper Husbands added a second goal to the Belmont Secondary tally in the 32nd minute.
By then, Belmont Secondary were in complete control of the match outplaying their rivals in all areas of the field.
And when Heathcliffe Carew raced up the left wing, darted inside the penalty box and unleashed a thundering shot into the net in the 55th minute, it was game over and the coveted trophy was on its way to Belmont with supporters jumping in Carnival style. But Belmont Secondary were not done yet.
They faced the highly favoured St Mary’s College in a game which was to decide the league title at Fatima ground.
Belmont Secondary were atop of the standings with 20 points with “The Saints” one point behind and needing victory to wrest the title.
What a game it turned out to be as Belmont met the challenge head-on, matching every goal “The Saints” scored. Alvin Henderson, scored twice for “The Saints” and the late Luciano Woodley got the other goal.
This did not deter Belmont Secondary, however, as they refused to cave in. Each time St Mary’s scored Wayne Lewis singlehandedly replied. Three times he booted the ball into the net to notch up the scores.
And Lewis’ exploits not only earned him the Man of the Match accolade, but his team the one point needed to lift the league title to go with the Inter Col to clinch a historic double. Now, with several of their players domiciled in the United States, plans are afoot for a celebration to mark their historic feat during the run up to Carnival 2K10, a time when most return for the national fete.
First a church service is planned followed by a reunion dinner apart from the annual football match...of course.